Continuous innovation, performance and knowledge management: an introduction

✍ Scribed by Ross L. Chapman; Mats G. Magnusson

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 69 KB
• Volume: 13
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1092-4604
• DOI: 10.1002/kpm.252

✦ Synopsis

That knowledge is a key component of all forms of innovation, and consequently also in continuous innovation, is a widely accepted tenet of modern innovation management. Despite this, the deliberate management of knowledge in order to support innovation has still not found its way into all companies. While some researchers in the innovation field would regard this as a shortcoming of the organisations in question, others would argue that it is actually better for firms not to try to use overly structured approaches and tools to capture and diffuse knowledge, as this could even result in stifling innovation if undertaken in the wrong way. Hence, our understanding of how to manage knowledge processes in a way that truly contributes to innovation is still limited.

In order to move away from a discussion based only on different theoretical assumptions about the nature of knowledge and its role in innovation, we need to bring this issue closer to practice, and expose our ideas to empirical testing. A fundamental step in moving the whole issue of knowledge management in innovation towards increased usability and usefulness is to put more emphasis on performance measurement and improvement. Only by investigating the relationships between innovation, knowledge and performance management can we arrive at improved theory and practice. This special issue is an early attempt to move in the desired direction. By combining conceptual